Latest news with #Savea
Otago Daily Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Robertson praises All Blacks effort
By Jamie Wall of RNZ It wasn't always pretty - and sometimes downright frustrating - but the All Blacks are off to a three-win start to the season. The 29-19 victory over France in Hamilton last night was one that saw them behind until almost an hour into the game. "We found a way to win and really good footy," said head coach Scott Robertson after the match. "Some really good stuff in it and we'll be better for it… some of it wasn't pretty and we understand that." Robertson made 10 changes to his side that won comfortably 43-17 in Wellington last weekend, so cohesion was going to be a little bit of a challenge, but that was before injuries to Rieko Ioane and Luke Jacobson forced late reshuffles. However, one of the most pleasing aspects for Robertson will be the impact of his bench that saw Jordie Barrett pull off a try-saving tackle and Brodie McAlister scoring the decisive try on debut. "(McAlister)'s try was great… he got there, slid in nicely. Those are big moments, the whole front row we rolled early, they were superb. We had a couple of injuries… but the guys just battled on." The All Blacks enjoyed an 88% possession advantage in the last 20 minutes - a match-winning statistic in any test - forcing the French to make 170 more tackles overall, a staggering disparity. The match had an eerily similar feel to the first test in Dunedin, in which France took an early lead and seemingly stayed in touch with the All Blacks on the scoreboard right till the end. The Kiwis won 31-27. However, last night's score doesn't reflect the utter dominance in territory and possession the All Blacks enjoyed for the final 15-20 minutes, by which time the French had really run out of ideas on attack. Savea proud of effort Captain Ardie Savea admitted the All Blacks had been "punched in the nose" in the first half. "But we came back in the second, but like Razor [Robertson] said you have to credit the French defence, stopping tries on their line. "That takes character, but I'm proud of our men too for doing their job, rolling their sleeves up and coming away with the win." Savea, who was wearing a French tracksuit jacket for the news conference, praised their unfancied opposition for the effort. "I think the French put us under a lot of pressure and we spilled the ball, gave them opportunities, gave them scraps. And that was through the pressure that they put on us, they just kept compounding their threes (penalty goals) and got out to a good lead. "So that was a moment where we as leaders just took a big breath and used the tools that we have." One thing the All Blacks had to adjust to before the ball had even been kicked off was a reshuffle in the loose forwards, with Jacobson pulling out with an injury sustained in the warmup. "It's been one of those things, an innocuous events. Luke had just come out of a maul, he said his quad was gone. And we knew straight away there was going to be a change, and we really feel for him, it was a big night for him at home," Robertson said. While it probably wasn't as convincing a set of scores that we'd been led to believe in the lead-up to this series, that probably says more about France than the All Blacks. Twice in three games they had to overcome an early deficit and then control the tempo at the business end, which they undeniably did perfectly in Dunedin and Hamilton. The All Blacks now have almost a month before The Rugby Championship begins, when the team face Argentina in two away tests. The squad is expected to be named on August 4.
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
'We found a way': Robertson praises All Blacks effort
By Jamie Wall of RNZ It wasn't always pretty - and sometimes downright frustrating - but the All Blacks are off to a three-win start to the season. The 29-19 victory over France in Hamilton last night was one that saw them behind until almost an hour into the game. "We found a way to win and really good footy," said head coach Scott Robertson after the match. "Some really good stuff in it and we'll be better for it… some of it wasn't pretty and we understand that." Robertson made 10 changes to his side that won comfortably 43-17 in Wellington last weekend, so cohesion was going to be a little bit of a challenge, but that was before injuries to Rieko Ioane and Luke Jacobson forced late reshuffles. However, one of the most pleasing aspects for Robertson will be the impact of his bench that saw Jordie Barrett pull off a try-saving tackle and Brodie McAlister scoring the decisive try on debut. "(McAlister)'s try was great… he got there, slid in nicely. Those are big moments, the whole front row we rolled early, they were superb. We had a couple of injuries… but the guys just battled on." The All Blacks enjoyed an 88% possession advantage in the last 20 minutes - a match-winning statistic in any test - forcing the French to make 170 more tackles overall, a staggering disparity. The match had an eerily similar feel to the first test in Dunedin, in which France took an early lead and seemingly stayed in touch with the All Blacks on the scoreboard right till the end. The Kiwis won 31-27. However, last night's score doesn't reflect the utter dominance in territory and possession the All Blacks enjoyed for the final 15-20 minutes, by which time the French had really run out of ideas on attack. Savea proud of effort Captain Ardie Savea admitted the All Blacks had been "punched in the nose" in the first half. "But we came back in the second, but like Razor [Robertson] said you have to credit the French defence, stopping tries on their line. "That takes character, but I'm proud of our men too for doing their job, rolling their sleeves up and coming away with the win." Savea, who was wearing a French tracksuit jacket for the news conference, praised their unfancied opposition for the effort. "I think the French put us under a lot of pressure and we spilled the ball, gave them opportunities, gave them scraps. And that was through the pressure that they put on us, they just kept compounding their threes (penalty goals) and got out to a good lead. "So that was a moment where we as leaders just took a big breath and used the tools that we have." One thing the All Blacks had to adjust to before the ball had even been kicked off was a reshuffle in the loose forwards, with Jacobson pulling out with an injury sustained in the warmup. "It's been one of those things, an innocuous events. Luke had just come out of a maul, he said his quad was gone. And we knew straight away there was going to be a change, and we really feel for him, it was a big night for him at home," Robertson said. While it probably wasn't as convincing a set of scores that we'd been led to believe in the lead-up to this series, that probably says more about France than the All Blacks. Twice in three games they had to overcome an early deficit and then control the tempo at the business end, which they undeniably did perfectly in Dunedin and Hamilton. The All Blacks now have almost a month before The Rugby Championship begins, when the team face Argentina in two away tests. The squad is expected to be named on August 4.
eNCA
2 days ago
- Sport
- eNCA
All Blacks survive fierce France challenge to win third Test 29-19
HAMILTON - New Zealand staved off a fierce challenge from France, pulling away late to win the third Test 29-19 on Saturday and complete a series clean sweep. The All Blacks took the lead for the first time with only 20 minutes remaining in Hamilton as the under-strength tourists faded in their last game of a long season, eventually conceding four tries to one. "Stoked with that," said All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, who conceded that his team had been in a battle. "The French turned up tonight. Proud of the boys as well in sticking it out in that first half and then the second half we brought it home." France's bigger forward pack and greater physical commitment helped them dominate the first half. The visitors led 10-0 early and then 19-10 on the stroke of half-time as a New Zealand side featuring 10 starting changes were forced into mistakes. "Around our breakdown and our ball carries they were getting success around that. As a leader, I was guilty of that too," admitted Savea. The hosts played with greater energy and largely dominated the second half, creating tries for forwards Du'Plessis Kirifi and Brodie McAlister, who were both making their first Test starts. "We sharpened that up in the second half and were able to build phases and build pressure. We converted it into points," added Savea. The victory sealed the series 3-0 against a touring team who were under-strength after coach Fabian Galthie chose to leave most of his first-choice players at home. "I'm really proud of the boys, the effort we put in today," said France lock Joshua Brennan. "It's a shame we lost but we played against a great All Black team and I'm just proud of the performance." France were highly competitive in the first Test which they lost 31-27 in Dunedin and in Hamilton, but they were well beaten 41-17 in the second Test in Wellington. Courage not enough "These last two weeks, the way we've evolved our rugby as well, I'm really proud," added Brennan. New Zealand have swept all five three-match series between the sides, also winning 3-0 in 1961, 1968, 2013 and 2018. "We hung on, we were courageous, but at this level, it's not enough unfortunately," France wing Theo Attissogbe told Canal Plus television. "So we have to be realistic, we're leaving with three defeats, but we're going to continue to work hard and we'll see what we're lacking to reach the level of the best in the world." France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec crossed early for the first of his 16 points, darting down the blind side from a lineout drive. His conversion and a penalty goal put the visitors 10 points clear before All Blacks wing Will Jordan struck against the run of play, chasing down a clever kick from scrum-half Cortez Ratima to score his 42nd try in 44 Tests. France scored in threes for the remainder of the half, through two more Le Garrec penalties and a drop-goal by fly-half Antoine Hastoy. New Zealand closed to 19-17 when centre Anton Lienert-Brown slid across nearly three minutes after the half-time hooter had sounded, finishing a long phase of pressure. Le Garrec missed a penalty and Hastoy a drop-goal attempt during a tense, scoreless third quarter of the match. The home side edged ahead 22-19 when France failed to control a Damian McKenzie cross-kick and flanker Kirifi crossed for his first Test try. Kirifi had been promoted to the starting side just before kick-off when Luke Jacobson was ruled out with injury. Hooker McAlister had a moment to savour on debut off the bench when he supported a break by Jordie Barrett and ran 15 metres to score the final try to seal the match in the dying minutes.
New Straits Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
All Blacks survive France challenge to win third Test 29-19
HAMILTON: New Zealand staved off a fierce challenge from France, pulling away late to win the third Test 29-19 today and complete a series clean sweep. The All Blacks took the lead for the first time with only 20 minutes remaining in Hamilton as the under-strength tourists faded in their last game of a long season, eventually conceding four tries to one. "Stoked with that," said All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, who conceded that his team had been in a battle. "The French turned up tonight. Proud of the boys as well in sticking it out in that first half and then the second half we brought it home." France's bigger forward pack and greater physical commitment helped them dominate the first half. The visitors led 10-0 early and then 19-10 on the stroke of half-time as a New Zealand side featuring 10 starting changes were forced into mistakes. "Around our breakdown and our ball carries they were getting success around that. As a leader, I was guilty of that too," admitted Savea. The hosts played with greater energy and largely dominated the second half, creating tries for forwards Du'Plessis Kirifi and Brodie McAlister, who were both making their first Test starts. "We sharpened that up in the second half and were able to build phases and build pressure. We converted it into points," added Savea. The victory sealed the series 3-0 against a touring team who were under-strength after coach Fabian Galthie chose to leave most of his first-choice players at home. Galthie though hailed his team's "heroic defence" and added: "I think the players believed in themselves, in the possibility of winning this match, until (the All Blacks) pulled away ten minutes from the end." France's Dublin-born lock Joshua Brennan said: "It's a shame we lost but we played against a great All Black team and I'm just proud of the performance." France were highly competitive in the first Test which they lost 31-27 in Dunedin and in Hamilton, but they were well beaten 41-17 in the second Test in Wellington. "These last two weeks, the way we've evolved our rugby as well, I'm really proud," Brennan added. New Zealand have swept all five three-match series between the sides, also winning 3-0 in 1961, 1968, 2013 and 2018. "We hung on, we were courageous, but at this level, it's not enough unfortunately," France wing Theo Attissogbe told Canal Plus television. "So we have to be realistic, we're leaving with three defeats, but we're going to continue to work hard and we'll see what we're lacking to reach the level of the best in the world." France scrum-half Nolann Le Garrec crossed early for the first of his 16 points, darting down the blind side from a lineout drive. His conversion and a penalty goal put the visitors 10 points clear before All Blacks wing Will Jordan struck against the run of play, chasing down a clever kick from scrum-half Cortez Ratima to score his 42nd try in 44 Tests. France scored in threes for the remainder of the half, through two more Le Garrec penalties and a drop-goal by fly-half Antoine Hastoy. New Zealand closed to 19-17 when centre Anton Lienert-Brown slid across nearly three minutes after the half-time hooter had sounded, finishing a long phase of pressure. Le Garrec missed a penalty and Hastoy a drop-goal attempt during a tense, scoreless third quarter of the match. The home side edged ahead 22-19 when France failed to control a Damian McKenzie cross-kick and flanker Kirifi crossed for his first Test try. Kirifi had been promoted to the starting side just before kick-off when Luke Jacobson was ruled out with injury.
The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
All Blacks display shocking lack of depth in narrow win over France 'B'
New Zealand staved off a fierce challenge from France, pulling away late to win the third Test 29-19 on Saturday and complete a series clean sweep. The All Blacks took the lead for the first time with only 20 minutes remaining in Hamilton as the under-strength tourists faded in their last game of a long season, eventually conceding four tries to one. 'Stoked with that,' said All Blacks captain Ardie Savea, who conceded that his team had been in a battle. 'The French turned up tonight. Proud of the boys as well in sticking it out in that first half and then the second half we brought it home.' France's bigger forward pack and greater physical commitment helped them dominate the first half. The visitors led 10-0 early and then 19-10 on the stroke of half-time as a New Zealand side featuring 10 starting changes were forced into mistakes. 'Around our breakdown and our ball carries they were getting success around that. As a leader, I was guilty of that too,' admitted Savea. The hosts played with greater energy and largely dominated the second half, creating tries for forwards Du'Plessis Kirifi and Brodie McAlister, who were both making their first Test starts. 'We sharpened that up in the second half and were able to build phases and build pressure. We converted it into points,' added Savea. The victory sealed the series 3-0 against a touring team who were under-strength after coach Fabian Galthie chose to leave most of his first-choice players at home. 'I'm really proud of the boys, the effort we put in today,' said France lock Joshua Brennan. 'It's a shame we lost but we played against a great All Black team and I'm just proud of the performance.' France were highly competitive in the first Test which they lost 31-27 in Dunedin and in Hamilton, but they were well beaten 41-17 in the second Test in Wellington. 'These last two weeks, the way we've evolved our rugby as well, I'm really proud,' added Brennan. New Zealand have swept all five three-match series between the sides, also winning 3-0 in 1961, 1968, 2013 and 2018. France scrumhalf Nolann Le Garrec crossed early for the first of his 16 points, darting down the blind side from a lineout drive. His conversion and a penalty goal put the visitors 10 points clear before All Blacks wing Will Jordan struck against the run of play, chasing down a clever kick from scrumhalf Cortez Ratima to score his 42nd try in 44 Tests. France scored in threes for the remainder of the half, through two more Le Garrec penalties and a drop-goal by flyhalf Antoine Hastoy. New Zealand closed to 19-17 when centre Anton Lienert-Brown slid across nearly three minutes after the half-time hooter had sounded, finishing a long phase of pressure. Le Garrec missed a penalty and Hastoy a drop-goal attempt during a tense, scoreless third quarter of the match. The home side edged ahead 22-19 when France failed to control a Damian McKenzie cross-kick and flanker Kirifi crossed for his first Test try. Kirifi had been promoted to the starting side just before kick-off when Luke Jacobson was ruled out with injury. Hooker McAlister had a moment to savour on debut off the bench when he supported a break by Jordie Barrett and ran 15 metres to score the final try to seal the match in the dying minutes. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
